JINAN, China (AP) — A court on Friday dismissed ousted politician Bo Xilai's appeal against his conviction and life sentence for corruption and abuse of power in one of China's most politically charged trials in decades.
The ruling by the Shandong Provincial Higher People's Court came as no surprise, with many political analysts saying such an outcome was predetermined by Communist Party leaders keen to put Bo away long enough to prevent him from making a comeback.
Bo was found guilty of embezzlement, bribery and abuse of power by a lower court in the same province late last month and sentenced to life in prison. He put up a robust defense during his five-day trial, denying the charges and recanting earlier confessions.
Authorities in the city of Jinan imposed a heavy security presence around the courthouse early Friday ahead of the ruling, closing buildings and streets in the vicinity, including a five-lane arterial road.
The conclusion of Bo's case bolts the door closed on a vexing scandal for the Communist Party leadership that included embarrassing revelations that Bo's wife murdered a British businessman and that his former aide made a failed attempt to defect to the United States.
Friday's ruling enables Chinese President Xi Jinping to further unify party leaders who may have been divided over how Bo's fate should be handled and to steer public focus toward the initiatives of the team he leads. Topping the agenda are a meeting of party leaders in November to draw up a blueprint for economic development and an anti-corruption effort that has been the hallmark campaign of Xi's leadership so far.
"Xi Jinping is anxious to put together at least a semblance of unity among the different factions," said Willy Lam, an expert on Communist Party politics at Chinese University in Hong Kong. "He wants to shift the attention of the public and the Western media from something negative to something more positive."
